JUST A THOUGHT

Jess Ratty, founder and CEO of Halo PR & Communications, looks forward to the year ahead.

WE’VE GOT THIS!

I’m not sure any of us have given ourselves a moment to really check in post-the last 18 months, but I can tell you how I’m feeling. I’m happy to be open about it - I’m tired but determined and incredibly optimistic.

Not only did we have to see our friends and family through Covid times, we had to keep a start-up business afloat - not just surviving - but thriving, with eagle eyes on how to make the most of every single opportunity that headed our way - driven in part through fear that if we took our eyes off the ball for a second then we’d be back facing chaos just like when Covid hit.

We’ve got this far though, haven’t we!

My small but fast-growing company has doubled its team, doubled its turnover and tripled its ambition. Covid highlighted just how much drive and motivation we hold in our hearts and minds and also cemented our vision for what communications can look like in an enhanced digital world. If we were nervous of putting ourselves and our ideas forward in any way pre-covid (yes, the big fat crazy ideas), that’s all out the window now - we have nothing to lose, because frankly, there were a few moments when it could have all gone out the window. Being a start-up business heading down the face of a massive wave into a global pandemic - necessity is the mother of invention, right?

We lost 40% of our business within two days at the start of the pandemic and instead of feeling demotivated, the overriding emotion was of rage. A rage that we could have got this far and that it could all be dashed away in an instant. It’s that emotion that powered the refuelling of our company - and also taught us the greatest resilience.

Within one month we’d gained 60% of new business back in and here is where resilience turns into strength. The partnerships we’ve built now over the last twelve months are far stronger than any that have come before and the companies that stayed with us have become far more than just business buddies. The energy it takes to pitch through a screen, the closeness we’ve gained of steadying not only our own ship, but being a part of maverick teams across the world, going above and beyond to use their own technological advances to power societal bounce back has been humbling and unifying. machine learning, automation, and space advancement for bettering life on earth enabled us to stand up and be counted and to understand our value in greater measures than ever before - to be stronger and bolder and more sure of foot.

As we head into 2022, with no real idea of what could come careering around the corner (hmmm, a bit like when we faced 2021) - there is one thing that I do know: the people and partners that we now work with are far more than work colleagues. They are friends, confidants, and fellow dauntless risk-takers during a time when it felt so easy to wither against the unknown. Working together throughout 2021 and beyond, we now know that if we can weather this storm, then we can plow through the rest, with the same passion for progress and technological advancement that brought us here to begin with.

One of the most valuable things I’ve learned during the pandemic is the importance of transparency during a crisis, and the bravery and honesty of vulnerability that comes with it. If we choose honesty in business, that will always translate to clarity of purpose - if we’re all on the same page, the world is our oyster, regardless of the current state of it. Going forward, I hope that’s one of the few elements of this strange new era that sticks around.

If we’re open, together, we are unstoppable - and how exciting is that for the future? We’ve got this.

Covid highlighted just how much drive and motivation we hold in our hearts and minds In short - being surrounded by the best in business in deep tech, fashion tech, fintech,